8 Takeaways From The PGA Tour/PIF Senate Hearing
The first Senate hearing on the PGA Tour's proposed agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment fund took place on Tuesday, with the three hour hearing shedding plenty of light on the deal that shocked the golf world.
PGA Tour Chief Operating Officer Ron Price and Board Member Jimmy Dunne were present to answer questions on the tour's behalf, with Senator Blumenthal leading questions alongside other senators.
The PGA Tour representatives were sworn in shortly after Blumenthal's opening statement at 10am. "Today's hearing is about much more than the game of golf," Blumenthal said. "It is about how a brutal, repressive regime can buy influence – indeed even take over – a cherished American institution simply to cleanse its public image."
The hearing was a fascinating watch, with Price and Dunne revealing plenty about the talks and framework deal, and a 276-page document shed more light on emails, presentations and plans for what might be next for the game if the deal goes through.
From the hope for Tiger and Rory owning LIV teams to PIF Governor Yassir Al-Rumayyan becoming a member of Augusta, a 'broad' non-disparagement clause and the future of Greg Norman, here are some of the biggest takeaways from Tuesday's hearing...
Over $1bn
After being sworn in, PGA Tour Chief Operating Officer Ron Price was asked how much PIF's investment in the PGA Tour would be.
"North of $1 billion," was his answer.
'LIV can gut us'
Throughout the hearing, it was made clear from Price and Dunne that the PGA Tour simply could not compete with LIV and the PIF's financial power in the long run. Whether it be from lawsuits or player poaching, the tour simply had to try and join forces with the PIF.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan last month said the framework deal was done to take a "competitor off of the board," and Board member Dunne put it frankly at Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
"If LIV takes five players a year for five years, they can gut us," Dunne said.
“It was very clear to us and to all who loved the PGA Tour and the game of golf as a whole that the dispute was undermining the growth of our sport and was threatening the very survival of the PGA Tour,” Price stated.
Non-disparagement clause
The non-disparagement clause was brought up time and time again throughout the hearing, with Senator Blumenthal recommending that it isn't included in the final agreement, calling it "as broad as I've ever seen". The clause relates to the PGA Tour members making disparaging remarks about Saudi Arabia.
The document relating to the framework agreement stated:
"Key terms considered during the course of drafting and negotiations included, among others:
The addition of a broad non-disparagement clause to the agreement by PIF on the evening of May 29, which is largely reflected in Paragraph 9 of the executed Framework Agreement."
PGA Tour COO Ron Price said, "I can tell you that under the framework agreement the players are absolutely free to speak their mind."
Greg Norman
It seems that the PGA Tour plans for Greg Norman's future as LIV Golf CEO to be finished if the agreement gets over the line.
Chief Operating Officer Ron Price confirmed that Norman would be out of a job according to the current plans.
"The LIV Golf assets of which Greg Norman is currently the commissioner will move to the PGA Tour subsidiary and those events will be managed by the PGA Tour," he said.
"It would make no sense to bring in that type of an executive to manage what now is 14 events. If we reach a definitive agreement we would not have a requirement for that type of position."
According to appendix 15 in the framework agreement documents, "Norman would be reassigned to an advisory role determined by PIF when the PGA Tour becomes the manager of the LIV Tour."
Tiger and Rory
In an early document seen amid the Senate Hearing titled 'The Best of Both Worlds' from Amanda Stavely's PCP Capital Partners sent in April, operating on behalf of the Public Investment Fund, it outlined a number of 'Proposals for Consideration' in relation to the PGA Tour's deal with PIF.
One of them was for McIlroy and Woods to become LIV team captains.
"LIV is proposing that Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods would own teams and play in at least to [sic] 10 LIV events," a proposal read.
"This and the participation of other leading players is subject to further consideration."
Yassir Al-Rumayyan to become an Augusta member?
Another interesting point from the Best of Both Worlds presentation was the hope for Yasir Al-Rumayyan to become an Augusta National member.
"HE Yasir Al-Rumayyan to become a Director of the International Golf Federation and to receive membership at Augusta and the R&A," it states. "As part of this, LIV is to review its senior management structure and Board composition."
Two elevated PGA Tour events
Also in the 'Best of Both Worlds' presentation was the idea that the PGA Tour could host two elevated events "branded under Aramco and/or PIF flags" - with one being in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
McIlroy's meeting with Al-Rumayyan
Rory McIlroy recently described Al-Rumayyan as a "very impressive man" last month and admitted to meeting him last year.
"I saw him in Dubai at the end of last year," McIlroy said at the RBC Canadian Open in June. "So he's obviously been in and around the golf world and obviously the wider sports world. So he's sort of, he runs in the same circles as a lot of people that I know.
"I would say he's an avid golfer. I think he really does like the game of golf. He likes playing it. He's a very impressive man. Harvard Business School. Runs 7 or 800 billions worth of dollars and invested in a ton of different companies. He's a very smart, impressive man."
A meeting was “arranged for Rory to meet with his Excellency in Dubai... It was a very cordial and constructive meeting... He [Al-Rumayyan] has been frustrated by his inability to engage constructively with the PGA,” the document reads.
The documents confirmed that the pair met in Dubai last year.
“In our meeting, Rory and His Excellency talked of the need for compromise to benefit the game’s stakeholders, be in players, fans, broadcasters, sponsors and charities," it read.
“There was an agreement by Rory and His Excellency that the leading players are unwilling to compete in more than 26 tournaments.”
The documents showed that the four-time Major champion “was seeking no personal financial gain, he was simply trying to unify the game."